Eleanor
'''Eleanor' is a character of Rule of Rose and is a high-ranking member of the Red Crayon Aristocrat Club. She is an orphan at Rose Garden Orphanage. She is often seen holding a cage containing her red bird. Eleanor is known as the Cold Princess, and is given the rank of Countess in the Red Crayon Aristocracy. She is one of the three Aristocrats in the Refined Class including Diana and Meg, with Diana ranking higher than her and Meg, ranking lower. Personality Eleanor is an aloof and introverted girl who never shows her true feelings to anyone, making her seem unfriendly, distant, and hard to understand. She is quiet and tends to avoid eye contact. Because of her lack of emotion (reduced affect display) and quietness, no one really knows what's on her mind. She is often lost in a world of her own, perhaps daydreaming, and ignores other people. Although she is generally quiet, she is not mute, and speaks when necessary. However, her lack of emotion often seems inhumane and very abnormal for a child—especially when she shows no emotion at the death of her bird, suggesting Eleanor has a neurological disorder. These signs are alarming and could be early symptoms of sociopathy and/or psychopathy. She also does not smile even once during the entire game. Eleanor attends meetings for the Aristocrat Club, and still participates in the other children's twisted "games". Eleanor also openly supports and takes part in the Aristocrat Club punishments towards the other children. This is shown when she cheers both to Amanda and Jennifer when they punish each other (on two separate occasions), as well as when Eleanor puts an insect in the Onion Bag while Jennifer is inside it. Eleanor's fascination with birds stems from her wish to "sprout wings like a bird and fly away to wherever she pleased." Birds are a source of happiness for Eleanor. As evidenced by the Bird of Happiness storybook, it is possible that she believed her pet bird would take her to a happy world named Forever Land, where she could escape the troubles of normal life in the orphanage and live in everlasting happiness. The memos in her chapter may be drawn by Eleanor. If so, it could be inferred that Eleanor wishes she was a bird; the Land Sketch would symbolize desire to live in an land of birds while the Family Sketch symbolize her desire to live in a bird family (as opposed to being an orphan). This belief is shortly abandoned after her pet bird is killed, which conveyed to her that "everlasting happiness is a joke." Biography It is unknown when Eleanor exactly arrived at the orphanage, but it is obvious that she was there before Jennifer's arrival. When Jennifer arrived at the orphanage, Eleanor rarely spoke to her. Eleanor neither became her friend nor her enemy; although Eleanor engaged in many of the punishments, there are moments when Eleanor speaks to Jennifer normally. Wendy's final Rule of Rose to murder Jennifer's pet dog Brown was also partially obliged by Eleanor along with Diana. Even after Jennifer violently lashes out at Wendy and shows her hatred towards the other orphans, Eleanor remains stoic. Eleanor, along with the other orphans, chooses to elect Jennifer as their new Princess of the Red Rose, but shortly afterwards is murdered by Gregory M. Wilson as "Stray Dog". Rule of Rose Eleanor appears as a mental construct, as the game is a re-enactment of Jennifer's childhood set in her adult mind. As such, Eleanor is akin to a dream character, although from a real world perspective, there is a theory that posits figures in dreams are the true selves of the deceased, and it is unknown if the game's writers had this theory in mind. Eleanor is among the rest of the orphans who abduct Jennifer and take her to the airship. In the "Sir Peter" chapter, Eleanor can be found in the salon. If Jennifer talks to her, she will ignore her and continue to stare at her red bird. In "The Mermaid Princess" chapter, it is implied Eleanor and Meg took Hoffman's koi, sliced it in half, combined it with a doll to make the "Mermaid Doll" as mermaids do not really exist, and donated it as the Monthly Gift. Diana was in charge of caring for Hoffman's koi, so she was blamed by Hoffman. Eleanor's storybook and chapter is "The Bird of Happiness". In July 1930, the monthly gift for the Aristocrat Club was to be a "Bird of Happiness". Since Eleanor was the only person in the orphanage to own a pet bird, Meg and Diana decided to pull a "prank" on Eleanor by taking the bird, wrapping it up in her dress, and putting it in a box in a box in a box. They apparently did this, knowing that the bird may die from suffocation if Eleanor did not find it in time. Meg and Diana backtalked Eleanor, saying she "deserved" it and they don't really like her. Jennifer managed to find it, but Eleanor entered the room to see her holding the bird corpse straight afterwards. Jennifer quickly claims that she was not the one who killed the bird, but instead of getting angry or upset, Eleanor merely took the bird, put it in its cage carried it to the club door and put it into the Gift Box with no particular reaction, countering Meg and Diana's bet of whether Eleanor would cry or become angry should she find her little bird. From then on, Eleanor always carried around her pet bird's cage, empty. In the "Rag Princess Sews" chapter, Eleanor can be found in the salon. If Jennifer talks to her, she will tell her that the thief of Joshua the Bear will be punished. In "The Funeral" chapter, Eleanor can be found on the balcony with her empty cage. If Jennifer talks to her, she merely ignores her and continues to stare at the sky. In the "Once Upon a Time" chapter, Jennifer expresses pity towards Eleanor, saying, "Poor Eleanor... She was burdened by her own frozen heart." Etymology The English name Eleanor comes from the Old French form of the Provençal name Aliénor. The first known bearer of the name was Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was named after her mother, Aénor de Châtellerault, and called Aliénor (from Alia-Aenor, which means other-Aenor in Occitan). It became "Eléanor" in the northern Langue d'oïl and in English. Therefore the meaning of the name is sometimes given as "The Other." In Greek, the meaning of the name was "compassion, pity." In Arabic, it means "God is my light." Compared to the other children, Eleanor can be seen as the "Other Child," as in the one who is not like the others. The "compassion" element to the name clashes with her cold, indifferent attitude to everyone else and most of the events of the story. Quotes *''"Yes, she is a pain..."'' *''"She was writing you a love letter... Oh... I see..."'' *''"...We had to do it. Besides, there's no such thing as mermaids."'' *''"...They're such beautiful and pure creatures."'' *''"There you are."'' *''"...The red bird. Have you found what you're looking for? Something dear to you...?"'' *''"Greetings, Princess Jennifer. From now on, you'll be our new princess."'' *''"Please lead us."﻿'' Trivia *Eleanor is one of Hoffman's favorite orphans, as her name is second to Diana's in his list, and he is seen with his hand on her head in the group photo. *If the memos in chapter are relevant to each character, then the News Article could be relevant to Eleanor. It mentions a famous couple called Elizabeth and Edward who are planning a divorce. These may be Eleanor's parents, considering that both also have E-names. **However, the newspaper article is dated 1930, and Eleanor was already in the orphanage by then. It could be theorized that the 1930 is an error, or Eleanor's parents disowned her and dumped her in an orphanage (If Elizabeth and Edward are Eleanor's parents). *Where Eleanor obtained her red bird from is unknown. She could have owned it when she still lived with her family and brought it to the orphanage when she went there, or it could have been an orphanage pet which she became very fond of that became more of her responsibility than anyone else's over time. *It can be speculated that the red bird was always a doll, or Eleanor got a doll as a replacement for her dead pet. *As shown in the introduction movie, Eleanor is left-handed. *Eleanor may be autistic as she exhibits many characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder. For example, her attachment to her bird/birdcage as a comfort object, limited eye contact and facial expression, calculated movements, limited social interaction and verbal skills, and preference to indulge in a fantasy world in order to cope with her situation. She seems able to function to the point of having social relationships with the other children, unlike Thomas, who seems to be on a different area of the autism spectrum entirely. *Each time Eleanor is shown curtsying, she turns her face away from the person she is supposed to be addressing. * In "The Bird of Happiness", Eleanor spends the entire chapter in her underdress as her red bird has been wrapped in her dress, presumably by Meg and Diana. How Meg and Diana got hold of Eleanor's dress is never mentioned. After the chapter Eleanor is shown wearing her dress again as she was before. * Eleanor's brown, sharp bob is known as a 'Lulu' from the stagename of the actress Louise Brooks, who made it a popular style at the end of the 1920s. Gallery Category:Characters Category:Aristocrat Club Members Category:Children Category:Female Characters Category:Deceased